Disclaimer: We don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter One- Birthday Gifts

She blinked, eyes wide.

Nose to nose, paralyzed by shock, she hardly dared to move. Is this real? she wondered, her mind spinning.

She had always hoped, always harbored the wish deep within her heart to someday find herself in this situation, but never had she imagined that her dream would, or even could, actually become reality.

She slowly raised a hand to the pair of fuzzy white ears that had been so abruptly thrust so close within her reach. Her fingers shook a little, but she pressed on, following through on the impulse that had been itching in the back of her mind since she had first laid eyes on him.

They're so soft…

He leaned into her hand, eyes closing and mouth opening in what looked to her like a smile of sorts.

He likes it! Her own face broke into a wide triumphant grin, and she continued to rub at the base of the twitching triangle. Her heart melted as he nuzzled into her.

"Who knew you could be so sweet," she murmured. A single eye lazily reopened to look at her, as if he were wondering whether or not to be offended. She giggled at the sight.

Her confidence rose as he continued to remain calm and composed under her touch. Bravely, she took him into her arms, sighing with relief when he didn't immediately try to pull away. His head snuggled into the curve between her neck and her shoulder, and she began to relax.

This is perfect.

A pink, wet tongue suddenly flashed out to lick her neck, and she startled. "Hey!" she cried indignantly, pulling him back to glare at him. "That wasn't very nice."

He whined in response, and she rolled her eyes. "Oh, fine," she relented, unable to resist the look in his eyes. "I guess it's to be expected." And she allowed him to return to his previous position cuddled against her, enjoying his warmth.

Until she felt something uncomfortably wet begin to soak her shirt, accompanied by a very unpleasant smell.

"MAMA!"

Kagome held the squirming white bundle of fur away from her body, her face twisted in disgust, as her mother did her best to disguise her laughter. Across the room, Souta wasn't succeeding nearly as well, doubled over in hysterical laughter.

"You should see your face, sis!" he choked out, and she rolled her eyes indignantly.

"You get peed on by a deceptively sweet-looking puppy and see how you react!" she retaliated, handing the small canine back to her mother and marching out of the room to change. "Now I need a bath, and I'll be late to meet Inuyasha," she groaned, already preparing herself for the hanyou's complaints. As impatient as he had been lately, he would probably decide to come through the well to get her himself.

But she couldn't help smirking at that thought as she walked up the stairs. She could only imagine his reaction to the newest member of the Higurashi household.

Inuyasha was early.

Oh, crap. Of all times to come get me, he just had to choose now!

He was standing by the window with his back to her when she crossed the threshold to her room. She read the stiffness in his back and nervously chewed on her bottom lip, already hearing his voice chiding her before the words could even manifest themselves on his tongue. He was pretty generous to allow me to come home for a few days for my birthday, she thought. But now that my time's up and he had to waste the energy to come fetch me, he's not going to be too happy. Kagome heavily anticipated what was going to happen next, but still wasn't prepared when he curved around sharply and met her gaze with his intense topaz eyes. She realized then that she was never going to get the bath she so desperately craved.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak, but a look of confusion crossed his expression for a moment as his sensitive nose relayed its sensory information to him – information that made his face twist in disgust. His eyes traveled up and down her soiled shirt. The sight seemed to have robbed him of the long, grueling speech about unpunctuality that he had intended to deliver to her. Instead, the result was a piercing silence that reigned for several moments before Kagome decided to initiate the conversation.

"I can explain," she said, holding up her hands in a gesture that was an admittance of surrender and hoping that her voice sounded calm.

"First I have to come back and fetch your sorry ass after four days because you're late, and then I finally get here only to find you smelling like piss?" Oh, he was definitely angry now. He spoke slowly and in a low, cold voice that made her shiver slightly. "What the hell, Kagome? What's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Four days? Was it really that long?" Kagome made a show of counting the days with her fingers to hopefully distract him. Basic math always seemed to confuse him, but this time it didn't work; he wasn't interested in the slightest in what she was doing. "Nothing bad happened, Inuyasha," she told him flatly. "It was just an accident! You're overreacting…again."

His golden eyes were blazing like an unruly fire. "Overreacting? Overreacting? Kagome, some bastard marked his territory on you!"

"Marking territory?" she repeated, arching a brow. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you even know what the hell that means?"

"Inuyasha-"

"Dammit, Kagome! Who did this to you?" He bared his fangs as he reached for the hilt of his Tetsusaiga. "I'll blow them to bits with my Wind Scar!"

Kagome's eyes widened in panic and she hurried toward him, putting her hand on his arm to prevent him from unsheathing his sword. "Put that thing away before you hurt someone," she hissed. "Nobody 'marked their territory' on me, so stop making a big deal about it. Now let me change my clothes and then I'll-"

She was interrupted by a high-pitched bark that resonated from the doorway.

Inuyasha had no longer seemed to register the fact that she was speaking, anyway, his ocher eyes having lasered in on the source of the offending noise- and smell, Kagome thought with irritation, glaring down at her shirt. I could have been in the bath by now if that baka hadn't come barging in here.

However, she couldn't resist a soft giggle, her irritation melting away as the aforementioned baka openly stared at the white puppy wagging its tail in the doorway. His feet seemed to be nailed to the carpet even as the small animal came running over to the pair, attempting to gnaw playfully on Kagome's bare toes. Inuyasha's mouth just hung open in unconcealed surprise, and it took him several moments to regain his composure.

In the meantime, Kagome took advantage of the hanyou's momentary paralysis to scoop up the excitable dog and attempt to calm him. "I was trying to explain, Inuyasha," she began with a smirk, idly scratching the fuzzy white ears that had so captivated her in the living room. The puppy momentarily stopped squirming in her arms in favor of allowing her to continue her actions, snuggling down into the crook of her elbow, and she had to fight back a squeal that would have surely ruined the moment.

"We got a puppy!" she exclaimed instead, using the voice she reserved strictly for babies and tiny, adorable animals. At this revelation, Inuyasha seemed to have finally gotten over his surprise, and hesitantly moved closer to Kagome so that he could get a better look.

The little guy truly was precious, she thought happily as she watched Inuyasha's curious eyes taking in the sight of the tiny canine. The pup was a rescue, her mother had explained, and the vet hadn't been quite sure of his breed. But the general consensus had been that he was a mutt, with his most dominant features seeming to suggest that he was part Shiba Inu, or perhaps Akita. Time would tell how big he would grow, but his laughably oversized paws indicated that he would be a substantial size one day.

But for now, he was simply a small bundle of pure white fur with adorable ears and a curled tail that loved to wag at the slightest provocation. Kagome had fallen in love at first sight.

Inuyasha, however, had a different reaction.

"So this is the bastard that marked his territory on you?" His nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Inuyasha!" She rolled her eyes. "He's only a puppy, he just isn't potty trained yet!"

"Keh. That's no excuse."

"But isn't he soo cute?" she pressed him, dissatisfied with his indifference. "Mama knew that Souta and I have been begging for a dog for years, and so she decided to surprise me with a puppy for a birthday present this year!"

She continued to chatter away about the pup, seeming not to have noticed that Inuyasha had frozen in surprise at her mention of the words "birthday present".

"Y-you got that for a birthday present?" he demanded incredulously, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

She glanced in his direction and shook her head at the shock he wore on his face. "Oh, what are you overreacting about now? Yes, he was my birthday present! I still haven't decided on a name for him yet. Do you have any ideas? I was thinking something cute like Aki or Yoshi."

"Slavery," Inuyasha was mumbling under his breath as she planted another kiss on the squirming puppy's forehead. "Actual slavery…"

"I heard that," Kagome hissed, tucking the canine under her arm and tossing the hanyou an exasperated look. "I'm not enslaving him, Inuyasha! What would make you think that? He's a pet!"

He still looked incredibly bewildered. "People give dogs as presents in the future?"

"Yeah. It's not exactly uncommon."

"Really?"

Kagome sighed tiredly and nodded. "Yes, Inuyasha. Really. Now don't you have something that you want to say or give to me?"

The hanyou huffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest, discarding his confusion and replacing it with his predictable form of frustration as he finally met her gaze. "Keh! What makes you think that? Are you crazy or something? It's not like a birthday is anything special. It's just another day closer to your death! Why celebrate it? You humans have the weirdest holidays."

She frowned and the puppy growled menacingly in her arms. "So you really have nothing to say to me?"

"Nope. Nothing comes to mind."

Of course, she thought, tears burning in her eyes. Of course he has nothing to say. That's Inuyasha for you! That thick-headed, stubborn, ignorant, stupid, rude, brash, dumb-

"…but I do have something to give you."

Kagome stared up at him with a gasp, surprise flooding her face as he reached within his haori and removed a bouquet of colorful wildflowers. His cheeks were flushed with color and he refused to meet her eyes, but he still seemed sure of himself and the gift he offered her; it was like he had known what would make her so excited even if it was so simple. She blinked away happy tears as she accepted the flowers in her free hand. He must've picked these just for me, she thought. He did remember. Oh, Inuyasha…

"W-why the hell are you crying?" he exclaimed worriedly, jumping away from her as if he was frightened of what she would do next. "They're just harmless plants! Stop crying already, wench!"

"I'm crying because that was really thoughtful of you," she clarified, wiping her tears away with a bright smile. "Thank you, Inuyasha. These flowers are beautiful!"

"You really like them?"

"Of course I do!"

Inuyasha smirked and opened his mouth to respond, but the words died on his lips the moment the miko leapt into his arms. He held her platonically at first, unsure of how to react as she buried her face in his chest and allowed her tears of delight to soak his haori. The puppy in her grasp was licking his cheek. Rolling his eyes but smiling nonetheless, Inuyasha wrapped his arms around them both and simply enjoyed the way she fit so perfectly against his body. It was like they were made for each other, but of course, that was not something he would think heavily upon that day. Besides, he had a fellow canine to rescue from "pethood" and whatever that entailed.

"Happy Birthday, Kagome," he told her quietly.

The puppy yipped in agreement. Happy Birthday, indeed.

~/~/~

Author's Note: Elantina and I have started a joint project! YAY!

This will be a series of one shots (averaging 2,000 words each) centering around the new addition to the Higurashi family and how it impacts our favorite couple. We're tag-teaming each chapter, meaning that we each write our parts in 500-word increments and send them back and forth until the chapter is complete. We start each chapter with a theme, but neither of us really knows where the other will take the idea next until we receive the next e-mail. It's been pretty fun starting out. :)

We hope you enjoy our little experiment in collaboration! Reviews are always appreciated.

Lady E